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Story: Farming and the environment

New Zealand vegetation cover around 1840

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New Zealand vegetation cover around 1840

By the mid-19th century Māori had brought about significant change in the original vegetation cover, especially down the east coasts of both islands, where forest had been replaced by tussock grassland. Forest had also been cleared from large areas of the South Auckland and Waikato regions.

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Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Source: Malcolm McKinnon, ed., Bateman New Zealand historical atlas: ko papatuanuku e takoto nei. Auckland: David Bateman, 1997, plate 12

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How to cite this page

Julia Haggerty and Hugh Campbell, Farming and the environment – Early changes, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/map/17881/new-zealand-vegetation-cover-around-1840 (accessed 24 June 2026).

Story by Julia Haggerty and Hugh Campbell, published 1 March 2009.